And then This Happened
by Moo-cow300
Summary: Various hijinks follow the sons of Odin from world to world.


1. Dance

Asgard, Jane decided as male and female Asgardians whirled about in gold and jewel colors, was not the place for her to fit in. She felt odd among the people who, in the past, had been worshiped as gods and now fit in the galactic-alien department. It had been sweet of Thor to extend an invitation all the way down to Earth (or Midgard, depending on the point of view) for her to attend his begetting day (reportedly celebrated by the decade), but, now that the initial awe at the constellations, the new planets, the architecture and way of life had faded, Jane felt rather... left out.

There was Thor, laughing over tankards (certainly not mugs) of ale with the Warriors Three and Lady Sif (who Jane was definitely not jealous of, even if the shieldmaiden was somehow able to keep her hair so smooth and shiny _even during battle_) and generally having a great time. Jane didn't want to intrude on his merry-making, but her alcohol tolerance was really not that great and she didn't want to spend Thor's birthday flat-out drunk; it had happened once, the getting drunk thing, on her twenty-first birthday... it was an experience she tried very hard not to think about. So drinking with the God of Thunder and his friends was not doable. Small talk with the guests would not work either, therefore the mortal astrophysicist had resolved to sitting quietly in a corner of the massive ballroom/dining hall, sipping a refreshing, fruity drink that she dearly hoped was not secretly spiked with Asgardian alcohol.

As she contemplated how nice Thor's smile looked, a tall Asgardian stepped up to her with a cheeky bow.

"My fair Lady," he smiled- a masquerade-esque mask adorned his face, covering his eyes and nose, "Would you bestow upon me the honor of one dance?"

Jane's head snapped up. Then she looked behind her, then to her left and right before saying; "You mean me? The Midgardian mortal?"

"Yes, my Lady, I mean you." he explained patiently. "You do indeed look forlorn, huddling in the shadows of corners instead of enjoying the laughter, the light, the dance. I, noble man as I am," he chuckled, "offer you an escape from your absolute boredom or the like."

"I really shouldn't..."Jane said uncertainly, eyes flickering towards Thor, who was engrossed in the man named Volstagg's tale of some hunt or battle or another.

"Nonsense!" the strange Asgardian cried, making Jane jump. "Prince Thor would not mind if you danced to one song with his childhood friend, now, would he? He knows I am not worthy of such a fine lady."

"Well, you seem charming enough to find your own lady," Jane muttered before standing up. "I'll go talk to him for a bit."

Thor looked up when Jane approached and smiled one of those large, sunny smiles, the kind that bloomed across his face and made her heart nearly stop. "Jane! Come join us; Fandral has been telling us a most amusing tale of when he snuck into- mmphf!"

"Ah, sorry, Lady Jane," Fandral sent a chilling glare at Thor, whose mouth was smothered by the warrior's hand. "But I do not think the story will be much to your liking-"

"-Seeing as it is risque and of dubious moral decisions," Sif finished.

Fandral let out a cry of protest to the friends' laughter while Thor pried the hand off his face before turning to Jane.

"Could we... talk?" At his getting up, she turned to his friends with a nervous, "Um... excuse us."

They wove through the groups of party-goers to stop behind one of the columns near the giant doors of the hall. Thor turned to Jane. His grin faded slightly at her pensive look.

"What did you wish to speak with me about?" he asked. At the slight pause lacking Jane's response, he seemed to wilt as he continued; "If... if the celebrations are not to your liking, I could-"

"No! No, really, it's great," Jane said. "But, you see, there was this... guy, who asked me to dance, and, well, I wanted to know if you were okay with me, you know, dancing with another guy? It's fine if you don't want me to, I'd totally understand, but he said he was a close friend of yours and-"

"I do not wish to make lightly of our relationship, Lady Jane, but of course you may, if you wish. I do not want to take away the fun of your evening due to the fact that yes, I know you cannot hold your drink-" Jane blushed. "-and that I am not fond of dancing and, the fact is, the tales my friends tell will only ever be humorous to an Asgardian. I want you to enjoy your evening," he pecked her on the cheek, "... but everything has limits. Do not do something you Midgardians call... crazy, was it? Or something you will regret later."

"Like drinking excessively and doing something stupid?" Jane asked dryly, because, she'd learned, Asgardian alcohol packed quite a punch, enough for even Thor to get drunk, where he'd probably do something stupid.

"It only happened once!" the God of Thunder protested. "How was I to know of Stark's phone being capable of 'recording' and the human gossip spread?"

Jane laughed, his description of YouTube never losing its charm, and kissed him before grabbing his hand and towing him back to his table. "Have fun," She hugged him and giggled. "In excess of course."

As she made her way back to her little nook, she was surprised to see the strange Asgardian sitting in her chair, waiting for her return. He looked a bit uncomfortable, the way he shied a little to the side when approached by women.

And boy, was he being approached by the ladies.

When Jane was close enough to hear his conversation with one, she tried very hard not to smile, but failed, of course.

"... It is not that I do not think you are, uh, _fetching _in that gown, but perhaps that... dashing young man over there is more suitable to your tastes?"

He made an odd flapping gesture behind his back at Jane, an interpretation equaling _Lady, get the hell over here and bail me out. _Instead, she took her time, trying a few snacks laid out on ornate tables, testing a drink or two that seemed to tickle her fancy. By the time she actually got to the corner, the poor man was making a valiant effort not to look at the woman's cleavage, which was placed directly at eye level as she wailed and pouted at his "cold-heartedness."

"Excuse me, Miss," she said, tapping on the, obviously noble, woman's shoulder. "He is with me." She did her best to imitate the Asgardian speak and the man facepalmed. "We, er-"

"My dear Lady," the man jumped up, "I must attend to, ah, matters."

And he dumped the woman who had cornered him into Jane's chair, shoving a drink into her hand before fleeing to the dance floor, Jane in tow.

"What in the world was that?" Jane laughed as he rested a hand on her waist and let her reach up to put a hand on his shoulder to dance.

"It was a proper way to avoid the clutches of the masses," he sniffed.

"Oh, look at her," She sighed, indicating to the woman sipping her drink forlornly, looking rather dazed at the two's quick escape. "Look at what you made me do! Now I feel guilty."

"Whatever for?" he asked. "She was cornering me! Have you ever been trapped by blood-thirsty women hunting for a potential husband? It is the most terrifying thing besides..." He faltered.

"Besides what?" Jane raised an eyebrow.

"Besides nothing," he grunted. "It's not important."

Jane hummed in doubt, but didn't ask.

* * *

Guests were starting to leave and, to Jane's slight disappointment, so was her dance partner.

"I am weary, and do hope you will forgive me for retiring before the lovely Lady."

Jane nodded and smiled. "You're a good dancer. Will you teach me more Asgardian-type dance someday?"

"Should we ever meet again," he said solemnly. Then he leaned closer to her and said, "But you should ask Prince Thor. His skills in dancing are much more polished than he thinks."

He grinned at her and bowed. "Goodnight, fair Lady Jane."

"Goodbye. Thanks for the dancing."

He turned away before stopping and hurrying over to her as she started to leave. "I apologize for not being able to give this in person," he said, "but please give my gift to Prince Thor."

The strange man pulled out a carved box from his pocket and handed it to her, who raised an eyebrow and looked up to ask him what it was only to find that he had disappeared.

"Huh."

* * *

Thor eyed the box Jane held with an odd expression.

"Jane, where did you get that?" he asked.

"Oh, this? Well, remember that person I wanted to dance with? He asked me to give this to you. It's his present."

Thor took the box with great care, running a gentle finger over the carvings of two boys, holding hands, hunting dragons, riding horses, sneaking into the kitchen and escaping with armfuls of sweets.

"What is it?" Jane had to ask.

"My childhood," Thor sighed wistfully. "Immortalised on wood by a skilled hand."

He opened the box and found red velvet lining that held... nothing.

"There is supposed to be an object here," Thor mumured, fingering the indent on the soft surface.

"What's that say?"

He followed Jane's finger to the inside of the box's hinged lid and balked at the writing.

" 'Sometimes,' " he choked, " 'I may be jealous, but never doubt that I love you.' "

The words shimmered an irredescent blue; the light swirled around the imprint on the velvet before solidifying, leaving a semi-translucent stone, the size of Thor's thumbnail, attached to a fine chain.

Thor and Jane nearly missed the sparkling residue from the spell.

_Happy Begetting day, Thor._


End file.
